Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/06/14
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Mark Pope wrote: > > Dear all, > > being new to street photography, I was wondering if anyone can offer any > hints or tips on accurate focusing with an M6 in situations where speed is > of the essence. Are there any techniques that you use that help to speed up > focusing and get good, sharp images? > > I'll be using 35 and 50mm , so there will be some leeway with DOF at smaller > apertures. However, when the light goes, clearly, this won't be the case. > Any advice will be greatly appreciated. > You have to practice an awful lot. When you're sitting at home, focus on different things around the room. Have your lens set to infinity (or near focus, whatever you're comfortable with), snap the camera up to the eye and line the images up in one movement. Try to get it exact without any wiggling to correct the focus. Also, practice recomposing immediately after the focus is set. When you click the shutter, don't drop the camera straight away; follow through like in target shooting or snooker. If you're working a subject which is moving slightly, move your body to correct the focus rather than twitching the lens. I also a technique called 'poke-focusing' for hip shots. I set the lens to minimum distance (usually 1m for the Noctilux or Summarit I use) and imagine a 1m long pole sticking out of the lens which I attempt to poke in the subject's eye. The hit rate is lower for this technique but it's still good enough. The hard part is visualizing the image correctly (more practice). - -- Stephen Holloway http://www.deepturtle.com/steve/photos